Petrol as a legitimate tax expense when self employed?

[Bob A Job]

Hello,
I am a self employed contractor that works on different building sites, I pay part cost of petrol as I am a non-driver. Is that a legitimate expenditure to put into my end of year tax return?

If it is so, what documentation would I need? I only pay part of the costs so original reciepts couldnt be used no?

Also it says here..
http://www.which.co.u...x-allowable-expenses/
.. that travel to and from work are not claimable. yet sometimes my share of the petrol can be +£75 per week. surely I can claim this??

[bushbaby_de]

As far as I am aware you cannot claim for your costs in getting to and from your place of work, you can only claim if you use your vehicle on company business in the course of your working day. Everyone incurs costs in getting to work, after all.

[ummmm]

You can't claim getting to and from work if you work at the same site. You can claim for going site to site though.

Are you vehicle sharing with the same person?

[Count-A-Strong]

£75 a week and that's a share?! Where are you travelling from / to?

[factor-fiction]

If you are a self-employed contractor can't you just put your rates up to include your travelling costs or say that the client will pay some or all of your travel costs? Or only accept jobs that are nearer home?

[ummmm]

Not in this climate factor. OH has just said that he spends anywhere between £70 and £150 a week on diesel. He's PAYE though so gets repaid by the firm.

Can't you just take it in turns to fill up and keep the relevant receipt for your records?

[boxtops]

As ummm says, travelling to a fixed site (your base) is not claimable, nobody gets that - but if you go to different places to work, it should be included in part of your price. How far are you going, if your share is £75 p.w.? Your driver's petrol bill must be massive!

[ummmm]

But he's allowed to claim back his travelling expenses (not to and from) and putting up his prices could mean he doesn't get the job.

[venator]

I think you need an accountant, as you should have some simple accounts to support your tax return.

A decent accountant will know all the tax allowances and extra-statutory concessions, and will probably save his fees.

I would offer my services, but I'm retired, and refer people to a firm run by an ex tax inspector.

http://twdaccounts.co.uk/

Hope this doesn't get killed as advertising - I have no connection with them whatsoever - I was with KPMG many years ago!

[factor-fiction]

>"putting up his prices could mean he doesn't get the job."
Isn't that all part of being self-employed?

[ummmm]

Yeah...but why put up a competitive price to cover something he can legitimately claim back?

[venator]

I saw something about a Government car sharing scheme - isn it worth a Googling?

[Bob A Job]

Thanks for the input folks.

I work on different sites, ATM im living in Essex and working in Woking its a return journey 5 days per week.
Im not in a position to ask for more money, as im already taking pay drops just to stay in work. Its a different discussion altogether but foreign contractors are doing the same job for half the money, Im lucky I still have something to travel to!

It never used to bother me when I was forking out £20 pw in petrol, but rising pump prices and having to travel further and further afield to find work is making it less and less profitable to work.

GETTING BACK TO PART OF MY ORIGINAL QUESTION.

What sort of documentation would I need as proof if I could claim it?
Would a weekly mileage log be enough?

[factor-fiction]

Maybe a call to HMRC would sort this out.
One issue you might have to look out for is that the person whose car you travel in might be using the receipts to claim the full amount, and isn't deducting the amount you contribute. If tax can be reclaimed on travelling costs then HMRC wouldn't want to pay twice on teh same amount .Maybe you need to your driver to get split receipts.

[venator]

At the risk of getting boring, an accountant might come up with the answer to this and some other ideas.

Do you claim for refreshments? If you're at different sites, you may be able to.

Work clothing, tools, etc? any trade related insurance?

There are agreed allowances which may not be published - extra statutory concessions.

Half an hour with someone who knows the ropes might be worth it.

[ummmm]

You'll need receipts just in case they decide to investigate you.

I don't agree with venator...most of what you can claim for is on the self assessment. If it's not then put it in the 'other' box. As long as you have receipts and it is a work related expense then will almost certainly be fine. Keep your receipts neatly...if they do decide to do a random check they will like you better:-)

All the info you need you can get from the tax office for free...